Poll: Assault weapons should be illegal

A majority of respondents in an online Argus-Courier poll said military-style assault weapons should be banned in the U.S. About two-thirds of respondents said the weapons should be illegal for private citizens, while one-third said they should remain legal.

Here are some comments:

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“This sort of weapons is designed to kill people, no more, no less. Banning them does not prevent people from owning firearms.”

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“Absolutely Not. The Second Amendment allows all American citizens to own any gun. Military assault weapons are way more sophisticated and are generally fully automatic. AR-15s are semi-automatic, as are most guns. Go live in a gun-free country like France if you do not like and respect the American Constitution.”

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“If you want to do war games, then get a paint ball gun. If you want to hunt, a rifle or shotgun should do the trick.”

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“I saw a politician on TV explain that there are those who enjoy collecting all types of guns, and those who actually find a use for this type of gun other than slaughtering people. He inferred that these were reasons not to ban them. Ridiculous reasoning.”

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“Military assault rifles should only be available to the military and police force. There is no reason anyone should possess a weapon capable of mass murder. At the least, there should be a ban on any ammo magazines that contain more than 10 rounds.”

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“The purpose of the Second Amendment was to prevent the tyranny of the government against the people. If the government has assault weapons, then so should the people.”

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“This will not stop the criminals. It will only weaken our liberties.”

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“What use do these weapons have other than to mow down large numbers of people as quickly as possible? We see this again and again. The ban is long overdue.”

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“Of course they should. What other purpose do they have but for mass killing? Anyone owning one, outside of military and law enforcement, should be fined heavily. Why the weapons are even sold to the general public is crazy.”

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“Not only should military assault weapons be banned, high capacity magazines should also be banned. Individuals on the government no-fly list should not be able to purchase any gun. These laws should be national to prevent the state-to-state transfer of weapons.”

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“Nobody has any business owning weapons like this.”

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